Long Races Are His Forte Paul Hathcox, 13, Tough To Beat Once He Sets Wheelchair Into Motion

December 21, 1986|By Alan Schmadtke of The Sentinel Staff

EUSTIS — Paul Hathcox inspected his $1,500 red racing wheelchair and couldn't help but think of the first time he entered a wheelchair athletic event.

''I was racing with this old clunker,'' he said, patting his day-to-day wheelchair. ''I still made the finals of the track events.''

Meanwhile, he won the field events and swimming events. All of them. Like the chair he uses to compete, Paul Hathcox has come a long way. For his age, 13, he is arguably the best wheelchair athlete in the state. In two years of competition, he has 14 state records and 10 national records.

From the 100 meters to the 1,500, Hathcox generally wins. Last month at the Orlando Wheelchair Games he was named the Games' outstanding male athlete. One look at Hathcox's arms and shoulders leaves no doubt why he is so good.

''He'll go up to the starting line and the other parents will say, 'He's 13?' '' said Mariann Welke, 45, Paul's adopted mother. ''I just say, 'Yes, he is.' Some of those other kids are small, and Paul looks like he's a lot older.''

He's just a little luckier and a lot more developed. Paul was born with spina bifida, a common birth defect that means being born with an open spine. The defect left Paul with near-total paralysis of his legs.

Three years ago, Don Welke, 48, brought home Spokes and Sports, a magazine for handicapped athletes. And Paul began competing.

He started in Tampa, site of the annual Sunshine Wheelchair Games and this year of the Governor's Games.

Although Paul had partial use of his legs, he developed scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, this summer and an operation left him without the use of his legs. But, oh, those arms.

''I work out every day, as much as I can,'' said Paul, an eighth grader at Eustis Middle School. ''I do curls, put weights over my head and to the side. I want to get as strong as I can. Right now I'm trying to arm wrestle a lot at school.''

It is all part of training for the next competition, which for Paul comes in February at Winter Wheelchair Games in Windsor, Ontario. His training will have to stop for a while, longer than he would like. He is scheduled for more surgery, an insertion of a sphincter valve, Jan. 2, ''but compared to the other surgeries he's had, this is really minor,'' Don Welke said. ''But it's still delicate.''

''The doctor said I won't be able to do anything for three weeks, but I have to get ready for Canada as soon as I can,'' Paul said. ''Those Canadiens, they're tough. It's like they see you at the starting line and say, 'See you at the finish line.' ''

Paul, particularly in the longer track events, is usally there first.

''I like the longer events better,'' he said. ''It's hard to get up to speed in the shorter events. I can roll in the 1,500.''

The Welkes smile at Paul's confidence, because they've seen Paul in action and seen him dominate a competition. They'll also learn to smile and his growing teen-age tendencies. He has started taking lessons to play the bass guitar and is trying to put together a band.

''I'm trying to find a lead electric guitar,'' he said. ''You need that.'' Then there is his future job. He want to manage professional wrestlers.